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Becoming a Priestess or Priest of Brighde entails eight days in four weekends of reclaiming and celebrating Brighde as Goddess of the Land, as Goddess of the Wheel and as Goddess within you. It is a journey of healing, connecting and walking with Her animals, the Swan, the Snake, the Cow, the Wolf and the magical Unicorn and Phoenix.

Try as I might I can't find anything that would link Brighid with unicorns (or phoenixes, for that matter). Is this UPG on the part of the writer (in which case she ought really to say something to that effect) or am I just not looking hard enough?

Try as I might I can't find anything that would link Brighid with unicorns (or phoenixes, for that matter). Is this UPG on the part of the writer (in which case she ought really to say something to that effect) or am I just not looking hard enough?

I'd say UPG, in Irish mythology and tradition there are no unicorns or phoenixes. Never come across this elsewhere either. Unfortunately some writers don't make their UPG clear and then cause confusion.

Try as I might I can't find anything that would link Brighid with unicorns (or phoenixes, for that matter). Is this UPG on the part of the writer (in which case she ought really to say something to that effect) or am I just not looking hard enough?

The only possible connection I can think of is that the unicorn is the national animal of Scotland. Scots and Irish paganism have a lot of cross over so this may be where she's coming from but I've never heard it before either.

The only possible connection I can think of is that the unicorn is the national animal of Scotland. Scots and Irish paganism have a lot of cross over so this may be where she's coming from but I've never heard it before either.

Well, it's quite common for people to conflate SAINT Brigid with the Goddess Bridged. I'm not even sure if that would qualify as UPG, since it's historically testified and traditional.

It's possible the Unicorn has some association with the Saint. I don't know of one mind you, but the unicorn is a common in Christian symbolism and mythology. I would look into that more deeply before dismissing it as UPG; perhaps the author found some association between Brigid the Saint and those mythical creatures.

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"The worshippers of the gods go to them; to the manes go the ancestor-worshippers; to the Deities who preside over the elements go their worshippers; My devotees come to Me." ... "Whichever devotee desires to adore whatever such Deity with faith, in all such votaries I make that particular faith unshakable. Endowed with that faith, a votary performs the worship of that particular deity and obtains the fruits thereof, these being granted by Me alone." - Sri Krishna

Well, it's quite common for people to conflate SAINT Brigid with the Goddess Bridged. I'm not even sure if that would qualify as UPG, since it's historically testified and traditional.

It's possible the Unicorn has some association with the Saint. I don't know of one mind you, but the unicorn is a common in Christian symbolism and mythology. I would look into that more deeply before dismissing it as UPG; perhaps the author found some association between Brigid the Saint and those mythical creatures.

FWIW, in my many years of research into Brighid -- as goddess, as Saint, as combination of both, and in Her other aspects, as well -- I've never seen any association with unicorns. I would treat that as the author's very unverified and very personal gnosis.

I'm confident that the Phoenix connection is also UPG, but, in that case, I can see a link through fire, since Brighid is clearly a fire goddess.

The author also lists the swan as one of Brighid's animals. I see this pretty frequently, but, AFAIK, that association is not found in the lore. I'd call that one shared personal gnosis, since it seems relatively common among Brighid's followers.

UPG associations can absolutely be very powerful, but even the most powerful UPG shouldn't be treated as if it's attested in the surviving lore. I think authors should be much more careful about noting their sources, and I've been concerned about this particular author and her Brighid trainings since I first ran across them.

Frankly, I also take issue with the author's description of the process of becoming a priest/ess of Brighid through her training course:

"Becoming a Priestess or Priest of Brighde entails eight days in four weekends of reclaiming and celebrating Brighde as Goddess of the Land, as Goddess of the Wheel and as Goddess within you."

In my experience, it takes a good deal more time and effort than that!

FWIW, in my many years of research into Brighid -- as goddess, as Saint, as combination of both, and in Her other aspects, as well -- I've never seen any association with unicorns. I would treat that as the author's very unverified and very personal gnosis.

I'm confident that the Phoenix connection is also UPG, but, in that case, I can see a link through fire, since Brighid is clearly a fire goddess.

The author also lists the swan as one of Brighid's animals. I see this pretty frequently, but, AFAIK, that association is not found in the lore. I'd call that one shared personal gnosis, since it seems relatively common among Brighid's followers.

UPG associations can absolutely be very powerful, but even the most powerful UPG shouldn't be treated as if it's attested in the surviving lore. I think authors should be much more careful about noting their sources, and I've been concerned about this particular author and her Brighid trainings since I first ran across them.

Frankly, I also take issue with the author's description of the process of becoming a priest/ess of Brighid through her training course:

"Becoming a Priestess or Priest of Brighde entails eight days in four weekends of reclaiming and celebrating Brighde as Goddess of the Land, as Goddess of the Wheel and as Goddess within you."

In my experience, it takes a good deal more time and effort than that!

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I wonder did the author do the Glastonbury Avalon training? Their training program has a similar outline and someone recently told me that's where the swan thing comes from too.

They are well-known for taking a lot of unusual UPG into their methods and creating new associations/lore to fit their program specifically.

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